Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology, Long Island University Post I am a professor of clinical psychology at Long Island University, where I conduct Attachment research, teach doctoral-level seminars (including psychotherapy interventions and developmental psychopathology), and supervise doctoral students. I am also a New York State licensed clinical psychologist. I use my educational, research and practice platforms to promote sensitive communication between people, which I believe stands at the heart of well-being. As a researcher, I study how early relationships with our parents influence our mental and physical health, and the quality of our close relationships later in life. I do so by investigating how individuals across the lifespan behave with their parents at times of distress, and how they remember and talk about these experiences years later. As a clinical psychologist, I apply an attachment-informed framework to therapy, which I keep developing through my research to scaffold my understanding of the difficulties clients experience. I am thankful for being in a unique position to both inform my clinical practice with cutting-edge research findings, and inform my research endeavors with extensive hands-on clinical experience I gain from interacting with patients.
Environmental Economist, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Elisha, Otekenari David is an environmental economist and lecturer at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He is interested in applying a holistic sustainability approach to environmental issues and their impact on resources. His research interest includes Blue Economy, Natural Capitalism, Environmental Finance, Resource Conservation in Production, Value of Biodiversity Property Rights, Climate Change, Econometrics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Teaching and Learning (Human, Social, Economic and Environmental). Elisha has interdisciplinary experience and background in marine and coastal resources. He is interested in applying a holistic sustainability approach to environmental issues and their impact on resources. He has a PhD in environmental economics (specialisation in economics and blue economy) from the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rivers State, Nigeria. His PhD research investigated the blue economy and the quest for sustainable development in Nigeria. He has a bachelor's degree in Economics fisheries from the Rivers State University of Education, now, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rivers State, Nigeria and a master’s degree in environmental economics from the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rivers State, Nigeria. He is a member, World Economics Association, and Fellow, Association of Scientific Researchers and Professionals of Nigeria,
Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Brown University Omer Bartov is the Samuel Pisar Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University and the author, most recently, of Genocide, the Holocaust, and Israel-Palestine: First-Person History in Times of Crisis (2023), The Butterfly and the Axe. A Novel (2023), Tales from the Borderlands: Making and Unmaking the Galician Past (2022), and Anatomy of a Genocide: The Life and Death of a Town Called Buczacz (2018).
Visiting Professor of International Studies, Tufts University Ozgur Ozkan is a research fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School. He holds a Ph.D. in International Studies from the University of Washington, Seattle and an M.A. in Regional Security Studies (Russia-Eurasia) from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. Before pursuing an academic career, he served as an officer in the Turkish army and NATO. Ozgur’s research lies at the nexus of international security and comparative politics. He primarily studies the efficiency and accessibility of security institutions, particularly the military, focusing on organizational culture, social composition, technology, and their implications for authoritarianism and political violence. Ozgur is working on a book project based on his dissertation exploring the determinants of the officer corps’ ethnic and geographical composition and its persistence in Turkey since the late Ottoman period. His book draws on extensive fieldwork in Turkey and a uniquely comprehensive dataset of the ethnic backgrounds and career paths of approximately 25,000 officers. Ozgur published a book chapter and has several articles in the process of publication on the causes and consequences of the military’s representativeness and effectiveness. His public-facing research appeared in Foreign Policy Magazine.
Accredited Practising Dietitian, PhD candidate, University of Wollongong Olivia Wills is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and member of Dietitian's Australia. She earned her Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (Hons1) as a Dean's Scholar at the University of Wollongong in 2021. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD at the University of Wollongong, with a focus on multiple sclerosis and diet, driven by her passion for advancing our understanding of the impact of nutrition in health and disease. Olivia's research is supported by a post-graduate scholarship from MS Australia. Olivia is also working clinically, providing dietetic counselling services for a diverse range of medical conditions, including endocrine, gastrointestinal, metabolic and neurologic disorders, including MS.
Associate Professor in Performing Arts, Tshwane University of Technology Owen Seda (DPhil) is an associate professor at Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa, where he is also section head of the School of Performing Arts. He has taught at the University of Zimbabwe, Africa University, the University of Botswana, the University of Pretoria and the California State Polytechnic University, where he was Fulbright Scholar in Residence. He is also a Commonwealth Scholar and joint recipient of a Fulbright Alumni Initiatives Awards grant with the late Professor William H. Morse II. With a particular research interest in African performance studies, popular culture, and the construction of identities within the global south, Owen has published over 60 academic journal articles and book chapters, with three co-edited books to his name. He has also participated in numerous academic conferences and theatre festivals in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the US.
